Inspiration to Live Your Magic: 75 Inspiring Biographies

• to get backing for his plan to sail around the world. The experts said it couldn’t be done.
  One country after another turned him down until, after years of effort, Columbus finally
  got the king and queen of Spain to give him the money, ships, and sailors he needed.
  For Columbus to sail further out of sight of land than anyone ever had done before,
  trusting in his own calculations and abilities, took a lot of courage. And he would need all
  of his seafaring abilities to find a safe route home again, using the Trade Winds that blow
  east across the Atlantic Ocean.
  While Columbus remained convinced to his death that he had found a route to India, his
  voyages changed the course of history. Even with all his mixups, Columbus brought back
  to Europe the news of amazing new lands and peoples. His discovery was the start of a
  huge movement of Europeans who came to North, Central, and South America to
  explore, trade, conquer, and occupy.
  Ultimately, Columbus’s adventuring meant that many changes would take place in the
  Americas. Whether you believe those changes were good, bad, or a mix of the two, there
  can be no doubt that Christopher Columbus altered the world through his vision and
  determination.

~ ~ ~